


The Ties That Bind

by madmonnette



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-07 18:17:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14086782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmonnette/pseuds/madmonnette
Summary: Written for Tumblr InuKag Week 2018 (March 24-30). This is set during their search for the shards. The only day that will have actual dialogue is day 6 cause I will actually need it? Otherwise, their words are summarized or not actually said out loud. Everything in quotes is their individual thoughts. If it's just italicized then both Inuyasha and Kagome are thinking the same thing.Day 1: TeamDay 2: ReflectionDay 3: DistanceDay 4: Red ThreadDay 5: TrustDay 6: AUDay 7: Journey





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Inuyasha. These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am only having fun. I make no money from this.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How they came to be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Inuyasha. These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am only having fun. I make no money from this.

They did not start out this way. They did not start out as a well-oiled machine. They started out as an absolute train wreck. Maybe worse.

Teams don't start out by one member threatening to kill the other over a magical marble. Or with the other member activating a spell that forces the other one to eat dirt. Literally and with great force. And usually repeatedly, depending on what he has done. Neither of them really enjoyed that, even though he thought she did. Sometimes she did, but only for a little bit. Then she would feel sorry for harming him and dragging him through the mud, literally. Not that she would tell him that. Just like he would never tell her how much he actually felt sorry for the ones he earned.

Good teams are supposed to have comradery and loyalty and communication and trust.

Things between them were often tense. And if they weren’t tense they were frosty. But when they weren’t tense they were friendly, with a low fire that warmed their hearts.

They often questioned each other’s loyalty. He questioned her loyalty to the mission every time she begged to go home. She questioned his loyalty every time her reincarnation’s _shinidamachu_ came to collect him. He could only yell and scream at her when she left for home. He yelled at her that she didn’t care about their quest, about fixing her mistake. She only sat him and told him when she would be back as she jumped over the rim of the well and disappeared to her era. She could only treat him with absolute silence whenever he came back from his rendezvous with the undead miko. Neither could possibly voice the secret fear: _“when will she wise up and leave me for someone safe? Someone who can tell she means to him?”_ or _“when will he finally leave me for her? She’s better than me in every way. And he’s in love with her. When will he realize that I’m nothing more than a liability and poor stand-in for his true love?”_

They best communicated in arguments and insults. Sometimes they meant them and then they truly, bitterly, and violently went at it, fighting and yelling for all they were worth. Other times there was no venom or heat to their words. Their taunts were teasing and the insults had no bite. Sometimes it was effective. Other times, they couldn’t figure out what the other one was saying. Or her strange, foreign words would confuse him. Or his mannerisms would insult her. She couldn’t get him to talk but he always listened. And she always tried to read what he was trying to say. And they would figure it out. Slowly and surely, they navigated through their arguments and misunderstandings to the truth.

But there is one thing they did have in abundance. They didn’t start out with it, with the threatening to kill and the sits and the secrets and the lovers coming back from the dead and the other male suitors constantly pursuing her. But they trusted each other implicitly with their lives and, slowly and begrudgingly and completely and absolutely secretly, with their hearts. She always, always trusted that he would save her. It didn’t matter what era she was in or how far away from each other they were. He would always find her when she was in trouble. And he absolutely, although sometimes with a few barbs and insults to her uselessness and inability to stay safe for more than ten minutes, always saved her. He never once let her down. And of course, he trusted her to watch his back in battle. He trusted her to sit him to make him duck. He trusted her to shoot an enemy to take it down, hinder it, or distract him for a second to give him an opening. He trusted that she would always bandage him up after battle. No matter how small the injury, she was always there with her cleaning and bandaging supplies ready to patch up the injuries he got while protecting her. He never needed them, he healed too quickly. But he knew that she needed to make sure he was okay. He whined and complained every time. But he let her do what she needed to do to make sure they were both okay. And if he felt better by being able to see her and smell her and make sure she really was safe from the danger this round? Well, she didn’t need to know that. He trusted her to protect him from others too. He had dealt with horrible, ignorant peasants and lords and demons everywhere he went. But the minute anyone looked down on him. She was there. She held his hand. She glared. She proved to everyone again and again that he was worth everything that they were and more. She stated repeatedly how strong and brave and smart and wonderful he was. How they should learn to open their minds to something other than what they know and their hearts to something other than themselves. He never acknowledged her declarations. He just stared off into the distance, his ears twitching with the emotion and anxiety he couldn’t express. He trusted her to pick up the pieces of his broken heart, even if it broke hers. They trusted each other to always save the other, in the ways only they could.

They weren’t an ideal team. But they were pretty damn effective. They knew how to tell every change in the other’s mood and demeanour. They usually knew what caused it and how to fix it. And if they didn’t they knew how to almost talk about it without talking about it. And they make each other feel better. But in battle they were flawless. She would direct his strikes and he would block the hits aimed at her. When she fought from his back she would shoot, usually covered in his fire rat robe, while he moved and fought with all his usual vigor. They were fierce together. And the few times he turned demon, she was always there with a sit or Tessaiga or both to bring him back to her. They were a team, forever and always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> miko- priestess  
> hanyo- half demon  
> Tessaiga- Inuyasha’s sword  
> yokai- demon  
> kit/kitsune- fox demon  
> houshi- monk  
> bozo- derogative term for monk  
> hentai- pervert  
> shakujo- Miroku’s staff  
> taijiya- demon slayer  
> Hiraikotsu- Sango’s boomerang made of demon bones  
> shinidamachu- soul collectors  
> haori- Inuyasha’s outer robe  
> kosode- Inuyasha’s under shirt


	2. What's in a Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of angst while our lovers come to understand what they mean to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Inuyasha. These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am only having fun. I make no money from this.

He hated stopping. If it were up to him, they would always travel. The miko could ride on his back whenever she needed and for however long she needed until they found the evil hanyo. But he recognized his companions’ need to stop and rest. The miko’s ridiculous urge to bathe every five minutes irritated and frustrated him to no end. But he always kept his nose and ears trained for large water sources, if only to replenish their water supplies. At least that’s what he told her. And if he was always on the lookout for a hot spring for her and the taijiya to bathe in? Well, she didn’t need to know that.

Every time he went to fill the water bottles or catch fish for dinner he always stopped to look in the water. It was hard for him to focus on his reflection when he could see so much. Tiny rainbows from where the sun hit the water. The pebbles lying at the bottom of the water source. The fish swimming unaware of his presence. But he managed. He looked at his accursed dog ears and fangs and bright yellow eyes that marked him inhuman and unworthy of love. _“Nothing but trouble here. Why doesn’t she leave me? What does she see in me?”_

She knew he hated stopping. She knew he didn’t understand her constant need to bathe. But he stopped anyway. And, though she knew he would never say it, she suspected he was always keeping an ear or nose out for hot springs for her. And he almost always found deep water sources when they made camp. Deeper water sources than they needed to simply restock their water supplies.

She sighed happily as she relaxed in the hot spring he had managed to find. She had been bathing in rivers the last week and a half. They had been fine, but they were still pretty cold for the end of spring. She was in total bliss relaxing in the hot water that soothed her sore and aching muscles. The taijiya rested next to her in the, admittedly, rather small spring. The little one was a bit pouty about the lack of swimming room, but the miko had pulled a rubber duck out of her bag for him to play with. He was so amazed he almost forgot to pout, except when he got carried away and bumped into rock. After about twenty minutes, the kit got bored and ran back to camp, leaving the rubber duck floating lazily in the water.

The miko and the taijiya appreciated the silence in the absence of all of their companions. The occasional shouts from camp informed them that the kit was raising hell for the hanyo and the houshi. But at least the girls knew where they both were. They needn’t worry about the boys peeping on them tonight. The duck drifted closer to the young women and they looked down at the toy. The taijiya picked it up out of the water and studied it intently, making it squeak every now and then. The miko looked at the spot where the duck had been. She couldn’t see much. Dusk was upon them and soon it would be dark. They should head back soon. She sighed as she looked at the water, trying to see if she could see anything in the murky depths. All she saw was her own reflection. She saw the same thing she had seen almost every day for the last 15 years. She was no heart-stopping beauty but she was pretty in her own right. “ _Maybe not as pretty as Kikyo”_ she thought glumly as she sank deeper into the water, scowling a bit. The taijiya was oblivious to her ire, as she was still fascinated by the texture and flexibility of the rubber duck. The miko giggled to herself watching her fascination. She looked down at her reflection again. She observed the bangs plastered to her forehead from the washing and the water. The bags under her eyes from short nights spent on the cold ground; reading textbooks by firelight and sleeping when her eyes got too heavy and the words made no sense. _“Nothing special here. Wonder why he keeps me around? What does he see in me?”_

One day, they left the kit to guard the injured houshi and taijiya while they went to collect water and herbs to treat their friends. As the hanyo filled a pail and their bottles with water, the miko washed her hands of herb stains and blood. They both watched as the river carried the colours away, leaving behind the pain of regret and the panic of the almost losing their friends. Her hands dangled in the water and he caught her reflection. He saw how she tried to hid the pain in her eyes behind her bangs, even as they leaked salty, tangy tears whose scent assaulted his nostrils and begged him to comfort her. He put his arm around her and dragged her to his side, urging her to cry into him and give him her pain. She grasped his fire rat haori tightly in her fists and let out the tears, the pain, the sorrow, the anger, and the bitterness she felt towards their enemy and his minions. He simply held her tightly and _felt_ with her. He watched their reflection in the water and lost himself to his own hidden emotions. The fear he felt towards losing her - losing all his companions - the way he had lost anyone who ever gave a damn about him. He no longer feared that they would turn on him for being hanyo. He knew they accepted and appreciated him for who he was. He valued them fiercely for that. But he deeply feared that they would meet their ends either by his claws or his inability to protect them. But as he looked at himself he knew they could never love him. And that was fine. He didn’t need love. Not at all. He felt another pair of eyes on him. He focused on the reflection next to his and saw the look in her eyes. Her eyes were locked on his reflection and he saw trust and a seed of happiness overtaking her grief and anger. As their eyes locked together he let her see everything he couldn’t say. He knew she understood.

She saw the doubt and deep-seated fear in his eyes when she finally emerged from her pity party and looked in the river at her best friend’s reflection. She knew exactly what he feared: losing the people he loved. She knew he would never acknowledge that he loved them, not even to himself. She knew it was too dangerous for him to care that much. She looked at him and loved him all the more for the comfort he offered, the fear he couldn’t escape, the protection he fought to provide, and the love he forced himself to ignore. He always gave her everything he could while keeping nothing for himself. She knew he thought he didn’t deserve anything, but she knew without a doubt that he did. So as their eyes locked on their reflections, she gave him everything she thought he deserved. She gave him the love he fought not to need, the happiness he desperately craved and a safe place to speak his mind, even if it was just like this – no words, just them and their reflections.

She watched him as he began to understand.

He watched her as she truly learned what she meant to him.

They understood what the other saw, even when they couldn’t, reflected in the other’s eyes.

_Home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> miko- priestess  
> hanyo- half demon  
> Tessaiga- Inuyasha’s sword  
> yokai- demon  
> kit/kitsune- fox demon  
> houshi- monk  
> bozo- derogative term for monk  
> hentai- pervert  
> shakujo- Miroku’s staff  
> taijiya- demon slayer  
> Hiraikotsu- Sango’s boomerang made of demon bones  
> shinidamachu- soul collectors  
> haori- Inuyasha’s outer robe  
> kosode- Inuyasha’s under shirt


	3. Never Too Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's never too far away to get to her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Inuyasha. These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am only having fun. I make no money from this.

He was too far away. Something had felt off from the very beginning of this battle. The scent wasn’t right. Or was it scents? He couldn’t tell. Everything had been going so fast. Too fast. The miko had shouted something about the shard they had been tracking and then the ground had exploded as a giant worm yokai attacked. The worm had gone straight for him and he had been so busy blocking that he couldn’t think about much else. He looked to her, so far away now. She was alert. She felt it too. Both the houshi and the taijiya were uneasy as well, looking around for the danger they all sensed. Every time he tried to get back to them, the worm yokai drove him farther away. This attack was too purposeful to not be planned. The worm seemed too weak and too stupid with all its flailing around. But it refused to die, or even receive injuries.

She knew the minute the worm burst through the ground that they would be in trouble. Sure her hanyo could handle a worm. But her miko senses told her something was off about this yokai. It wasn’t giving off the yokai she felt so strongly. It almost seemed like it wasn’t there. And it was drawing him farther and farther away from her, like it didn’t want him close enough to protect her when something happened. She felt naked without her protector, especially with her miko senses demanding her attention – screaming danger. She drew an arrow from her quiver and knocked it on her bow, leaving the weapon down but ready. She needed to find the source of that yokai. And what happened to the jewel shard she had sensed? She closed her eyes and breathed in slowly, concentrating on the yokai and identifying the location of every individual jewel shard. _“Why is there a jewel shard on my shirt? And why is it moving?”_

The wind changed and he smelled it. A strange scent clung to his miko. She looked to be concentrating hard on something. That’s when he saw it. A piece of dirt was moving. _“No not dirt - the real worm yokai.”_ He couldn’t get to her. She was too far away. The worm was inching towards her pocket, the one that held the jewel shards. Time seemed to slow as he watched the worm make its way down her shirt and to the little patch of skin that was slightly exposed as she held her bow and arrow. Another inhale brought the smell of poison to his nose. He opened his mouth to scream her name. _“I’m too far away. I’ll never make it in time. No. Not her. Please Kami, not her! I can’t live without her! I won’t!”_

Her eyes opened the moment she realized it. She felt the yokai preparing to attack. _“It’s going to kill me if I don’t do something!”_ So she did the first thing she always did when she saw a worm. She screamed in disgust and horror and danced around, successfully jostling the yokai and preventing it from attacking. She begged someone to get it off her as she continued to move and cry out.

As the miko screamed, the hanyo sensed the yokai’s disturbance. He smelled the poison dissipate but his chest still tight with panic, he called out to the houshi to dispel the fake worm with his sutras as he bounded over to his miko. Her screams were saving her but he still couldn’t stand them. He needed to stop her terror and protect her. He covered the distance between them with a few bounds, impressive even for him and a testament to his desperation. Wary of the mouth and the poison it carried, he grabbed the yokai still clinging to her shirt and squashed it between his fingers, leaving only the jewel shard behind. His other hand dropped Tessaiga so he could grasp her shoulder. He squeezed it tightly. _“It’s ok. You’re safe now. I have you.”_ He handed the jewel shard over to her and watched her purify it. Her power always amazed him. The shard joined the others in the bottle.

When their eyes met, hers thanked him for saving her while his thanked her for giving him time. With his words, he yelled at her for being so useless and not being able to help herself. He blamed her for distracting him from figuring out sooner that the worm wasn’t real. She pushed at his chest. She shouted right back about how easily he fell into the trap and how if he hadn’t been so stupid she wouldn’t have needed saving in the first place. She blamed him for making her worry and distracting herself from the danger she was in. But it was clear from the grip that he had on her shoulders and the way that her hands fisted in his haori after she pushed him, that neither was letting the other get too far away.

He scoffed at her concern and turned, yelling at the houshi for not acting sooner as he crouched, waiting for the miko to climb on his back. He stood and yelled at the others to keep up; there was a waterfall nearby that they could wash up in. He waited for the houshi and the taijiya and the kitsune to mount the neko yokai before he took off.

Her arms wrapped around his neck as he ran through the forest. She propped her head on one shoulder, sighing contentedly against his him as she hugged him. He knew what that meant. He squeezed her thighs reassuringly in answer and she giggled. The tightness finally lifted from his chest.

_I knew you would save me. I never doubted you for an instant._

_No matter how far away you are, I will always be there to protect you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> miko- priestess  
> hanyo- half demon  
> Tessaiga- Inuyasha’s sword  
> yokai- demon  
> kit/kitsune- fox demon  
> houshi- monk  
> bozo- derogative term for monk  
> hentai- pervert  
> shakujo- Miroku’s staff  
> taijiya- demon slayer  
> Hiraikotsu- Sango’s boomerang made of demon bones  
> shinidamachu- soul collectors  
> haori- Inuyasha’s outer robe  
> kosode- Inuyasha’s under shirt


	4. Kami Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the Kami have brought them together, nothing will ever tear them apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Inuyasha. These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am only having fun. I make no money from this.

She stabbed herself with her sewing needle. Again. She scowled as a red line made its way down her finger, staining the thread she was working with. _“Well that won’t help”_ she thought with a scowl. _“Might as well just sew with red thread. Might make me look badass. Or ridiculous.”_ She heard a rustle and then felt a body plop down next to hers. She smiled around the finger in her mouth. _“He must have smelled the blood. He worries too much.”_ She leaned into him with a sigh meant to calm his protective nature. _“I’m ok. Just a deeper poke than usual.”_  He took her sewing from her and started to do it himself. She looked over at him in surprise. He only shrugged at her. She smiled as he watched him, watched him bury the stained thread on the inside of her uniform. It was barely being held together at this point. He finished stitching the tear and tied off the thread expertly. He handed it back to her without looking her in the eyes. She inspected the stitching. Her part looked fine, but his looked excellent. Her heart broke as she thought about why he might be so good at sewing. He stood to leave but she grabbed the sleeve of his haori. He met her eyes. Her eyes were filled with pain. _“I’m sorry you’ve been so alone.”_ His eyes reassured her. _“It’s ok. I’m not alone anymore.”_

_Thank you._

*

Contrary to what she thought, he didn’t hate the miko garb on her. At first it was too painful to see her in it. It was too reminiscent of what he had lost. But as she had come into her own and wedged herself firmly in his heart, he had minded it less and less. It made him dream. He dreamed of what their life could be like after the jewel was completed and the dark hanyo was defeated. He dreamed of a hut near his forest, or in one of the clearings. He dreamed of pups running around with his ears and their mother’s smile. He dreamed of those smiles being directed at him. The ones full of love and hope and happiness. He dreamed of the fights they would have. And how they would always make up and come back to each other. He dreamed of her staring off into the distance, playing with the red thread tied in such a pretty bow around her neck, trying to diagnose a villager or figure out what to name the pup growing in her belly. He dreamed of her accidentally untying it and getting it wrapped around her finger. He dreamed he would pick up the other end and wrap it around his own. He dreamed she would giggle and spout some story from her time about the red thread of destiny and he smiled and knew it was more than just a thread. For him it was a lifeline. The Kami had thrown him a rope and pulled her smack into her. And he couldn’t be happier. If he could, he would tie them together for all eternity. But it seemed, someone beat him to it.

*

Every time she wore his fire rat, she marveled at how sturdy it was. She always had to be careful not to pull any threads from her uniform. But no matter what she was doing or how long she searched, there was never a loose thread on his haori. The only time she saw a loose thread was after a battle where a particularly vicious yokai with a surprisingly large shard managed to slice through his haori when he was moving her out of the yokai’s reach. He hissed as the claw made contact with his skin, but he made no move to inspect the wound until after the battle was over. It wasn’t until she was collecting the jewel shard that she saw it. One thread of his haori had stuck to the yokai’s claw. She collected it along with the jewel shard and wondered what to do with it. She wrapped it around the bottle with the other shards and they continued on their way.

Later that evening, she fiddled with the string. She wrapped it around her finger. She tied it into a knot and watched it flutter in the wind. She leaned back against a tree and closed her eyes, sighing. It was late. The houshi, taijiya and kit were all asleep. She had just put away her school things. _“I should sleep. It’s late. I’m tired.”_ She felt the string go taut. She opened her eyes in surprise. There sat her hanyo. Tying the other end of the fire rat thread around his own finger. She watched as he gently tested the thread with his claw. She saw a small smile turn up his lips as the thread held up. He gave it a sniff and his smile grew as he realized what it was. His eyes shone as they studied her blushing face. He knew she was thinking what he was.

_The kami have brought us together. They will never be able to tear us apart._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> miko- priestess  
> hanyo- half demon  
> Tessaiga- Inuyasha’s sword  
> yokai- demon  
> kit/kitsune- fox demon  
> houshi- monk  
> bozo- derogative term for monk  
> hentai- pervert  
> shakujo- Miroku’s staff  
> taijiya- demon slayer  
> Hiraikotsu- Sango’s boomerang made of demon bones  
> shinidamachu- soul collectors  
> haori- Inuyasha’s outer robe  
> kosode- Inuyasha’s under shirt


	5. What is, what was, and what we hope for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How deep does their trust go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Inuyasha. These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am only having fun. I make no money from this.

As their bond deepened, so did their trust in each other. From the very start, even though he (and everyone else who knew him in the early days) said that she shouldn’t, she trusted him with her life. His words said that he was only after the jewel and that she would be dead once he possessed it. But the transformation of Tessaiga, the willful loaning of his fire rat haori, and preference of her safety over his own spoke to how deeply he valued her and her well-being. Before she knew it, she had trusted her heart to him as well as her life. She knew he had no idea how to handle it. That was obvious whenever he went after the undead miko. She was alright with that. Well, maybe she wasn’t completely alright with it, but she trusted that she could help him learn. She trusted that he would allow her to teach him. And he did. He learned to protect her heart just as fierce as he protected her body. Whenever he left, his eyes spoke his apologies and his promise to return to her. After he returned, he embraced her with apologies that he left and assurances that he would always come back. And the more he returned to her, either from her preincarnation or from battle, the more she trusted that he would always, always return to her, and the safer her heart felt.

He didn’t want to trust her. It never ended well when he trusted people. Either they would end up dead or they would try to kill him. Or both. Not trusting her was another way of protecting her. But he couldn’t help it. The better he knew her and the more she protected him, fought _with_ him, fought with him, fought for him, and fought for the others in their group, the more hopeless it became. He didn’t want to, but he trusted that she would be with him forever. He trusted that she would fight like hell to always stay near him, to always be with him, to always be by his side. But even with as much as he trusted her, he couldn’t trust himself. He didn’t trust himself to always be there when she needed him. He didn’t trust himself to be able to protect her from everything, especially himself. He didn’t trust himself to never be the cause of her pain. And he was right. There were too many close calls. There were too many battles that put him out of commission because he only had time to shield her with himself, not take her out of harm’s way. And every time she cried for him or because of him, he knew he had failed.

But she turned the tables on him again. He didn’t trust himself to ever be enough for her. She proved that he was, over and over, day after day with her continued trust in him and her constant presence by his side, even after he pushed her away. He didn’t trust himself to ever be able to protect her completely. She beat it into him that he couldn’t do everything for her. She explained she was grateful she had to fight for herself. It made her stronger and smarter so that she could give him the time he needed to win his battle before coming and helping her. He didn’t trust her to be safe around him in whatever form he was in. Her eyes sparkled with tears over his self-loathing and fear. She cried for his pain. Then she told him that his human half would fight to the death for her, even against his yokai half. And that he was perfect just the way he was. He wiped away her tears and apologized for causing them, all of them. She only smiled and told him she trusted him to do better tomorrow.

So he handed his heart over to her. He trusted her to heal it from the beatings it had taken all his life. He trusted her to dismantle the thick, impenetrable walls around it. He trusted her to build them back up and make them strong, beautiful, and functional. He trusted her to teach his heart how to be human, after so many years of being hated. More than that, he trusted her to teach him what it meant to be hanyo, weaving together the good and bad to leave only a strong and trustworthy _person_.

Neither of them disappointed the other. He protected her with his life and she helped him learn how to live his life to the fullest. Their lives and their hearts became so intertwined with the other that no part of their hearts or lives was untouched by the other’s. They trusted each other with their fears, insecurities, and pasts, and made it easier for them to share their hopes, dreams, and futures, even if they refused to dream out loud. You truly couldn’t have one without the other. And neither would have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> miko- priestess  
> hanyo- half demon  
> Tessaiga- Inuyasha’s sword  
> yokai- demon  
> kit/kitsune- fox demon  
> houshi- monk  
> bozo- derogative term for monk  
> hentai- pervert  
> shakujo- Miroku’s staff  
> taijiya- demon slayer  
> Hiraikotsu- Sango’s boomerang made of demon bones  
> shinidamachu- soul collectors  
> haori- Inuyasha’s outer robe  
> kosode- Inuyasha’s under shirt


	6. Never Just a Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when a dream is more than a dream?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Inuyasha. These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am only having fun. I make no money from this.

Kagome jumped out of her daydream as a piece of paper hit her arm. She turned her attention from the window to glare at her best friend. Inuyasha only smirked back at her. Kagome rolled her eyes at him. She opened the piece of paper. _“Penny for your thoughts?”_ “You wish” she mumbled under her breath. She knew his inu-hanyo ears would pick up her words over the incessant droning of their sensei. Another piece of paper landed on her desk. Kagome huffed in irritation. “You’re going to get us in trouble. Again.” She opened the paper nonetheless. _“Pay attention. You know sensei likes to call on you in this class. Damn sadist that one.”_ Kagome chuckled at Inuyasha’s assessment but tuned into the lesson. She was loathe to admit it, but he was right. History felt too much like her grandfather’s endless supply of stories. Her mind often wandered and this sensei loved to ask inattentive students questions. As Inuyasha predicted, a few moments later, sensei called on Kagome to answer a question. She could feel Inuyasha’s eyes on her, as well as his smirk. Some things never changed, he was either saving her from herself or getting them both in trouble. Not that she minded. She would never mind his presence in her life.

*

History had been the last lesson of the day and the sensei reluctantly let them go when the final bell rang. Inuyasha was immediately by her desk. Kagome smiled up at him and he grinned back at her. “Told ya the man was a sadist. I think he went into teaching simply to torture innocent children.”

Kagome smacked his arm. “Come on, Inuyasha. He’s not all bad. He, um, he…” She trailed off trying to think of something good to say about their sensei. Inuyasha waited patiently for her to admit defeat. Kagome gathered up her books and stood up. “Well, he doesn’t put super obscure information on pop quizzes. If you skim the reading you can usually pass.”

Inuyasha shrugged as they left the classroom. “You have a point.” He huffed and blushed as she beamed up at him. “So what’s the game plan for this weekend?”

“Well, Sango’s family is taking a trip to deal with some demons that are stirring up problems in some rural province. They left this morning. Miroku’s uncle decided that he needed to cleanse his soul.” They both snickered at the truth of that statement. “So it looks like it’s just you and me this weekend, Yash.”

“Do you think your mom would be ok with staying the weekend at my place?” Inuyasha asked hopefully.

Kagome laughed and punched his arm. “Of course she would, Yash. You know she loves you. She always knows I’m safe as long as I’m with you.” Inuyasha flushed at the insinuation and mumbled under his breath. Kagome knew what that meant. It may not be the Sengoku Jidai, but hanyo still weren’t completely accepted by society. Things were getting better, but Inuyasha had had a tough life surrounded by prejudice and distrust. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “So, am I cooking or are we ordering pizza?”

Inuyasha’s eyes glazed over. “Will you make that omelette of yours? And some oden? And ramen?”

Kagome laughed and squeezed his hand again before withdrawing it to exchange her books in her locker. “Is that what you want for dinner?” Inuyasha nodded vigourously. “Alright then. But we will have to stop at the store on the way home.”

Kagome closed her locker and turned back to him, missing his flush as she called his house home. He never thought it felt much like a home, except when Kagome was there. After his mother had died, his father had thrown himself into his work. The house was beautiful, there was no doubt, and Kaede, his nanny turned minder, did her best. But nothing compared to Kagome’s laugh filling up the silence. Everything felt so dark without her bright presence lighting up his life and senses. He was so grateful to her for sharpening his dull existence, not that we would ever threaten their friendship by doing something as stupid as saying that out loud.  He knew that she knew how much she meant to him. He knew he wasn’t worthy of her love. He was amazed that he had it anyway.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Her voice interrupted Inuyasha’s musings. There she was. Looking at him so innocently, as if she hadn’t just inadvertently asked him to pour out his heart to her. He buried his doubts and insecurities before grinning widely at her. “Just thinking of how good that ramen is going to be.”

She smacked him playfully again. “If you don’t watch it mister, that’s the only thing you’ll be eating tonight. And Kaede will be the one making it for you,” Kagome mock threatened. She knew how much he liked it when she made it instead of Kaede.

 _“She’s so damn cute,”_ Inuyasha thought to himself. His eyes locked on her mischievous smile, her eyes so beautiful with that playful glint in her eyes. Before he knew what he was doing, Inuyasha had dipped down and was about to kiss her when he woke up.

He took in his surroundings, breathing hard from the anticipation of his dream. He was still up in the tree he had chosen for the night. He blinked a few times, regaining his bearings. He heard a rustling below him and his whole body snapped towards it, nerves on edge.

His miko had turned in her sleep. No. Not in her sleep. She was wide awake and looking right at him. Panic filled his being as he feared that she knew what he had been dreaming about.

“I just had the strangest dream,” Kagome whispered, knowing his inu-hanyo ears would pick up her words over the whispering of the wind and the crackling of the dying fire. “We were at school together.” He gulped. _“Could we have shared the same dream? Is she going to ‘osuwari’ me for trying to kiss her, even if it was a dream? Will she run away? Will she finally leave me?”_ Her voice interrupted his panic. “All I wanted was to be around you. And make you happy. And see your smile. And be the cause of it. We were best friends. But I think we both wanted to be something more.” His head shot up from where it was hung in shame. _“Could it be? Does she… want me too?_ _Am I still dreaming?”_ His eyes locked on hers as she got up from her sleeping bag, careful not to wake the kitsune. He tracked her as she made his way over to his tree. She held her arms out to him, a silent plea to let her join him. Before he could think about it, he had leaped down and returned to his tree with her in his arms. He supported her until she was satisfied with their seating arrangement, making sure that he could see her and she him.

He reached up to tentatively caress her cheek. “I think I had the same dream. The sensei was mean. And you were so beautiful. You made everything better. You were my best friend. But I couldn’t help but love you. You and your family loved me unconditionally. It made me so happy.” He hung his head again at the onslaught of emotion.

She bent her head towards his, resting her forehead on the top of his head. She needed to confirm his deepest dreams and desires. “That is all true. That isn’t just a dream. I do love you. My family loves you. Miroku and Sango and Shippo and Kirara love you too. And we love you for who you are. Not what you can do for us or who you can be. We love Inuyasha, our beloved friend.”

“But why? You shouldn’t. I’m temperamental. And rude. And insensitive. And dangerous. You shouldn’t love me. You shouldn’t even trust me. You would all be better off without me. I can only cause you harm.” He didn’t look at her through his speech of self-deprecation. He kept his head down and his voice soft, just shy of breaking. He couldn’t bear to see the realization on her face as she accepted that he was worthless and that she should leave him behind and send him straight to hell herself.

She couldn’t take it anymore. She felt his self-loathing roll off of him in waves. She was suddenly angry. She was angry at everyone who had ever told him he wasn’t good enough, or worthy of love or acceptance. She was angry at anyone who had ever raised a fist or voice at him. Most of all, she was angry at herself for not making sure he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt just how much he meant to her, to all of them. She grabbed his face in her hands and forced his head up. His eyes refused to meet hers. “Inuyasha, look at me,” she demanded forcefully. Fearful amber met determined blue. “You listen here mister, and you listen well. Yes. At times, you are temperamental and rude and insensitive and dangerous. Yes. If I hadn’t met you I would still be a normal high school student and my life wouldn’t be in danger all the time. And you do harm me. But not in the way you think. Not with your claws or your harsh words, ‘cause I know you don’t mean that. You harm me when you believe you aren’t good enough to be with us, to be treated with love and respect like anybody else. You harm me when you insist that your hanyo nature is cause for shame and disrespect. Because you **do** deserve love and trust and companionship and happiness. You are a person with a soul just like any human or yokai. And you have such a beautiful soul. You are kind and generous and caring and so very **good**. You would rather die than see any of us come to irreparable harm. You have a beautiful heart, Inuyasha. We all see it. We all love you for it. We see your gruff exterior for the armour that it is. We know how much you have been hurt. We see **you** , Inuyasha. And we love you for who you are, good heart, rough exterior, and all. And I believe we left something unfinished. It is quite rude to leave a lady hanging you know.”

His eyes were open wide in shock and disbelief. He couldn’t believe she thought that much of him. He was utterly floored by the force of her trust in him. And love. Love for him. Her last words sunk into his stunned brain. “Unfinished?” he asked, still dazed from her monologue.

She smiled at him mischievously, playfulness glinting in her eyes. She leaned into him. “Yes, Inuyasha, you started something and I intend to finish it,” she breathed against his lips. Then she pressed her lips to his, her hands resting lightly on his chest. She waited patiently for him to adjust to the idea of her kissing him, exuding calm and confidence that she hoped leaked into her scent.

The feel of her lips against his was better than he could ever dream of. And he had tried, many times before, to dream about it. She was so warm and soft and delicious against him. He could feel her love and her patience. He could smell the tears she almost shed for him. Her entire scent spoke to optimism and hope. And he couldn’t let her down. Or deny himself any longer. His eyes finally slid closed as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling their bodies as close together as their position allowed. It was a chaste kiss. They didn’t open their mouths to each other. They didn’t move their heads. They didn’t need to. They simply enjoyed the feel of each other, their love for each other and their trust and belief in each other as intertwined as their dreams had been and always would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> miko- priestess  
> hanyo- half demon  
> Tessaiga- Inuyasha’s sword  
> yokai- demon  
> kit/kitsune- fox demon  
> houshi- monk  
> bozo- derogative term for monk  
> hentai- pervert  
> shakujo- Miroku’s staff  
> taijiya- demon slayer  
> Hiraikotsu- Sango’s boomerang made of demon bones  
> shinidamachu- soul collectors  
> haori- Inuyasha’s outer robe  
> kosode- Inuyasha’s under shirt  
> Sengoku Jidai- warring states era of Japan


	7. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey is always the hardest part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Inuyasha. These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I am only having fun. I make no money from this.

They did not start out this way. They did not start out loving each other. It was easier for her than it was for him. She wasn’t severely emotionally damaged from years of unjustified hate and fear and prejudice. It wasn’t easy for them, but the journey towards love never is.

Couples don’t usually start with one member threatening to kill the other one over a magical marble. He believed it could make his life better. He didn’t know then that the jewel couldn’t heal him. Only she could. Couples also don’t usually have one member with the power to activate a spell that can make the other one eat dirt. It had started out as her protection _against_ him. Now it was her protection _for_ him.

Strong couples have communication and trust and a deep unwavering love.

Sometimes things between them were tense, but it was usually tense with the feelings they didn’t dare express. Things were only frosty when they were scared for each other. And when they were completely at ease, and felt safe, they allowed their burning love for each other to shine bright. They didn’t always use their words. They didn’t need to. They had come so far and become so close that they knew the meaning behind every sigh, smile, frown, scream, laugh, touch, and glance.

They were both insecure about themselves. She never thought she could ever measure up or do right by him. He was always waiting for the moment that he would drive her away for good. But they trusted each other to have each other’s backs in the battlefield of yokai and love. They trusted each other to always give the other the benefit of the doubt. And they knew that there was always a second chance waiting, if they only asked for it.

And however much they would doubt themselves, they never doubted their love. It had survived death threats and sits and fear and near losses and past loves coming back from the dead and a steady barrage of male suitors. Their journey to collect the shards had led them on a much more harrowing journey to each other and to who they were always supposed to be. One team, with one love, always reflected in each other’s hearts. It had tied them together across space and time. It had taught them how to truly put their trust and love in another person and be secure in the knowledge that their place was by their side. And they knew that no matter where they had been, where they had lived, in any world and in any time, they would always journey towards each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> miko- priestess  
> hanyo- half demon  
> Tessaiga- Inuyasha’s sword  
> yokai- demon  
> kit/kitsune- fox demon  
> houshi- monk  
> bozo- derogative term for monk  
> hentai- pervert  
> shakujo- Miroku’s staff  
> taijiya- demon slayer  
> Hiraikotsu- Sango’s boomerang made of demon bones  
> shinidamachu- soul collectors  
> haori- Inuyasha’s outer robe  
> kosode- Inuyasha’s under shirt  
> Sengoku Jidai- warring states era of Japan

**Author's Note:**

> miko- priestess  
> hanyo- half demon  
> Tessaiga- Inuyasha’s sword  
> yokai- demon  
> kit/kitsune- fox demon  
> houshi- monk  
> bozo- derogative term for monk  
> hentai- pervert  
> shakujo- Miroku’s staff  
> taijiya- demon slayer  
> Hiraikotsu- Sango’s boomerang made of demon bones  
> shinidamachu- soul collectors  
> haori- Inuyasha’s outer robe  
> kosode- Inuyasha’s under shirt  
> Sengoku Jidai- warring states era of Japan


End file.
